High school football: Prairie Ridge shuts down Willowbrook to reach Class 6A semifinals

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge, which had done pretty much what it wanted in the first half, administered one more gut punch to Willowbook before halftime.

[Daryl Quitalig]

The Warriors had a glimmer of hope after cutting a two-touchdown lead in half when Nick Sabatino took a short pass from quarterback John Taylor and raced for a 57-yard touchdown.

The Wolves snatched that hope away moments later. Tight end Cooper Tomlin came up with what he called “the biggest catch of his life.” Tomlin wrestled away a ball from a Willowbrook defender at the 4-yard line for a 39-yard gain. Two plays later, quarterback Samson Evans scored from the 3.

[Daryl Quitalig]

“We both had it at the same time and I took it away from him,” Tomlin said. “I wanted to catch that ball really bad. I was really excited so we could punch it in and have a bigger lead at the half and be a little safer. It was definitely demoralizing for them.”

The Wolves added two more third-quarter touchdowns and cruised to a 42-7 victory Saturday in their Class 6A quarterfinal game. No. 1-seeded Prairie Ridge (12-0) takes the state’s longest current winning streak (26 games) into the semifinals at No. 7 Hoffman Estates (10-2), a 35-10 winner over Belvidere North. That game will be played Saturday at a time to be determined.

“That was a phenomenal catch,” Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. “We see it in practice. We just haven’t hit it in a game yet. It was nice to get (Tomlin) that ball in a game.”

[Daryl Quitalig]

The defending 6A state champions got the ball to the second half and were driving, but lost a fumble. Willowbrook (10-2) lost a fumble back two plays later and Prairie Ridge scored again. Warriors star running back Jack Jessen also suffered a sprained left ankle on the fumble and did not return until the game’s final series.

Prairie Ridge converted 8 of 10 third-down plays in the first half, and converted a fourth down on one of those misses. The Wolves’ triple-option offense grinded out drives and allowed Willowbrook only 18 offensive plays in the first half.

“You have to be assignment-heavy every single play,” Warriors coach Nick Hildreth said. “For the most part, early on, we did a good job of minimizing big plays, but when you’re still giving up 4, 5, 6 (yards) at a time, we’re not doing what we need to do and getting ourselves off the field.”

The Wolves’ defense also shined, allowing Willowbrook only 168 total yards and slowing down Jessen to 15 carries for 80 yards, 34 of which came on one run.

“It was probably our best defensive game all year,” Schremp said. “Their offense is averaging over 40 points a game. I didn’t know what to expect. We flew to the football, tackled really well, we were able to put pressure on their quarterback. It was an all-around really good effort by our defense.”

“We noticed some things on the field with how they were pass blocking and we took advantage of some of the things they were doing,” Ommen said. “It left me free on the quarterback. We played really well. We shut down the pass and the run at the same time. It was hard for them to move the ball on us.”

Evans finished with 29 carries for 129 yards and four touchdowns. Fullback Jackson Willis had one of his best games with 20 rushes for 108 yards and a touchdown.

“It helps to have Samson Evans in the backfield and have guys keying on him,” Willis said. “And I have the best offensive line in the country. I have really good blockers in wide receiver Carter Evans and running backs Ethan Kirchberg and Zach Gulbransen, they open up holes all over the field.”

It was a completely frustrating day for the Warriors, who had 10 first downs for the game, three of which came in their final drive as time was running out.

“Up front, (their defense) really handled us and we weren’t able to adjust to that and get in any kind of flow or tempo,” Hildreth said. “They beat us up a little bit.”

[Daryl Quitalig]

STAR OF THE GAME

Jacob Ommen

Prairie Ridge, Sr., LB

Ommen had 3 1/2 sacks as the Wolves’ defense allowed only 168 total yards in their 42-7 victory over Willowbrook in their Class 6A playoff quarterfinal game. Prairie Ridge’ defense gave up only one touchdown and 10 first downs for the game.

QUICK STATS

Prairie Ridge 42, Willowbrook 7

Willowbrook 0 7 0 0 - 7

Prairie Ridge 7 14 14 7 - 42

First quarter

PR-S. Evans 1 run (Koelblinger kick), 4:01.

Second quarter

PR-Kirchberg 16 pass from S. Evans (Koelblinger kick), 6:53.

W-Sabatino 57 pass from Taylor (Garrett kick), 1:11.

PR-S. Evans 3 run (Koelblinger kick), 0:02.

Third quarter

PR-S. Evans 8 run (Koelblinger kick), 8:13.

PR-Willis 5 run (Koelblinger kick), 1:14.

Fourth quarter

PR-S. Evans 1 run (Koelblinger kick), 5:45.

AND ANOTHER THING...

With the victory, Prairie Ridge will play in a third semifinal for the second time in Fox Valley Conference history. The Wolves were also the first team to accomplish that feat, in 2009 through 2011. They went on to win the 2011 6A state championship.